THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) in conjunction with Welcome China will be conducting the China Ready Certification Training Programme to players in the tourism industry and related sectors.

The training equips tourism operators with necessary skills and knowledge on how best to tap into the Chinese tourism market.

The training will be conducted from 3 to 8 April 2019 in Harare, Bulawayo as well as the resort town of Victoria Falls.

China is currently the world’s largest source market for outbound tourists and most countries are putting various strategies to tap into it.

While Zimbabwe enjoys excellent relations with China, the country’s tourism industry has not been able to fully tap into this huge market.

Analysts are of the opinion that the country needs to translate the political goodwill into economic benefit.

Others are of the opinion that Zimbabwe is an expensive tourism destination. They argue that Zimbabwe is pricing itself out of the market and needs to correct its fee structure for sustainable growth.

The country is arguably one of the world’s most expensive tourist destinations, with industry experts believing that Zimbabwe could be prejudicing itself of thousands of potential tourists due to its exorbitant charges.

It costs between US$100 and US$200 to book into a decent hotel, while the price can double in major tourist resorts like the Victoria Falls.

Zimbabwe, as a destination, becomes even more expensive given the South African rand’s slump against the United States dollar. — 263gossip